Demons of Labyrinth
by SilverShadow44
Summary: One of my earlier fanfics - my sequel to the film. When the Labyrinth is invaded by demons, Hoggle gets Sarah to return in hopes that her presence will bring back the missing Goblin King - but is it already too late?
1. Beginning

**Demons of Labyrinth**

 **Disclaimer:**

I do not own rights to any of the characters in this fanfiction, which I wrote in tribute

to the Jim Henson Productions film _**Labyrinth**_ back in 1987. That movie and its characters

are property of the Jim Henson Company.

 **BEGINNINGS**

" _I can make all your dreams come true . . . ."_

Lightning crackled ominously overhead as the king of the goblins strode to his castle, alone. Goblins scattered through the shadows of the fortress, fearful of disturbing their raging master. Jareth shoved out of his way any unfortunate subject he could find. Oh Sarah, how could you refuse me?

" _Piece of cake . . . ."_

Alone in the world of the Labyrinth, truly alone was Jareth. Even Toby had been taken away from him. The king of the goblins had been defeated by a mere slip of a girl . . . woman. Oh, Sarah.

" _You have no power over me . . . ."_

Jareth sat down in his cold stone chair at the center of the castle. One small goblin, braver than the rest, brought over a dead rat to amuse the king. Jareth wrinkled his nose with revulsion and flung it out the door along with the last of his nearby subjects.

" _You have no power over me . . . ."_

Sarah, Sarah . . . . Jareth stood up and shouted his frustration to the cruel, empty heavens.

"Noooooooooo . . . ."

Then the king of the goblins slumped down in the darkness and a sight that none in the Labyrinth would have believed possible took place. Jareth cried.


	2. Chapter One

**CHAPTER ONE**

A soft breeze stirred through the curtains and Sarah looked up, losing her place in the People magazine she was reading. The house was so quiet now that her parents and Toby were gone for the weekend. She had fortunately begged off from the trip to Aunt Edna's, but now she was getting bored – a feeling that made her extremely uneasy. After all, it had been only six months since she'd returned from an adventure she didn't dare tell anyone about. Well, there was no use thinking about it or regretting it. She had made the right decision and she would have to live with it. Still, he had been so handsome . . . .

She felt herself captivated by these thoughts and didn't even notice the small figure that appeared from behind her closet door.

"Sarah!"

The familiar voice nearly jolted her off her bed as she glanced up to see the dwarf that had entered her room.

"Hoggle! What are you doing here?"

"Sarah, you've got to come back! We need you in the Labyrinth! Something terrible . . . ." the dwarf gestured frantically with his small, wrinkled hands, but he was too out of breath to speak. Sarah sat him down on her bed and after a few moments he regained some of his composure, if not very much of it. "They've taken over the Labyrinth, taken over everything! Killed all the goblins, even control the castle! We need you!"

"What? What's gone on? Start from the beginning!"

Sarah listened almost stunned with disbelief as Hoggle told her of the terrible fate that had befallen the world of the Labyrinth. An interdimensional portal had opened into Jareth's kingdom only a month ago and through it had come an invading army of demons that had slaughtered any creature it could find, mostly goblins, and actually destroyed areas of the Labyrinth. Worse, the demons had been led by a monstrous, black-armored warrior called the Dreadlord, who now completely controlled the Labyrinth and Jareth's castle. Hoggle and several others, including the great, furry Ludo, had managed to escape the demon hordes and form a very disorganized resistance group in a place that the Dreadlord still had not found. But not all of Sarah's otherworldly friends had been so lucky.

"Poor Sir Didymus," Hoggle mumbled, unaccustomed tears welling up in his dwarfish eyes. The valiant old fox's heart had given out during a pitched battle with the demons.

Sarah herself began to feel the cold, creeping shock that Hoggle was suffering from. The terrible takeover of the other dimension seemed to have happened too fast for it to be real. She didn't want to believe in it, although instinct told her that the dwarf wasn't lying about anything, least of all Sir Didymus' death. Her mind slowly brought itself around to an inevitable question.

"What about Jareth? Why hasn't he done anything to stop this invasion?"

"He's vanished," Hoggle sighed. "After you left, he went back to his castle and nobody's seen him since. Without him the demons will never be driven away. We need you, Sarah. If anyone can bring that wretched old bully back from wherever he's gone to, it's you."

Sarah took a deep breath and tried to pretend that none of this was happening. Did she really want to face Jareth again, after everything he'd put her through? Would she be able to resist him this time if he came back? And did she want to risk facing the horrible demons Hoggle had described? Then she looked down at Hoggle and knew that her decision was already made. All of her friends in the Labyrinth were in trouble, and if they needed her help then she was going to do the right thing again. But first, even though she could feel herself crying for Sir Didymus, there was one last thing she had to do before leaving. Going over to her dresser drawer, she took out one of her gold-colored bracelets and handed it to the little dwarf.

"Genuine plastic," she said.

For the briefest second a smile crossed Hoggle's face as he put the bracelet on his wrist. Then he got up and waved his hand for her to follow him. She stepped across the room into a swirling nothingness and felt herself pulled along until she came to a place where the ground felt strangely different and the air seemed to tingle with magic. She was back in the Labyrinth.


	3. Chapter Two

**CHAPTER TWO**

A small, pudgy hand tugged at Sarah's wrist.

"You can open your eyes now. We're here," Hoggle said.

At first the Labyrinth looked exactly as Sarah had remembered it. But Hoggle's nervous glancing about reminded her that not everything was as it should be. Then she noticed the unnatural silence that surrounded this section of the Labyrinth – no goblin giggles, no animal sounds, no talking walls or any of the other things she now alerted herself to hearing.

"We'll have to travel a-ways."

Sarah shivered, knowing what that could mean in this place. Yet they were just starting to walk along when a steady rumbling sound started somewhere in the distance. Hoggle paled and pulled Sarah around a sharp corner of the giant maze away from the sound. He frantically motioned for her to be quiet as the pounding grew nearer. Couldn't be the tunnel cleaners . . . more like the sound of hoofbeats . . . .

"The Dreadlord," Hoggle whispered.

The pounding grew closer and closer as they huddled back in the shadows. Sarah could almost feel the breath of a monster horse over her head, but frightened as she was, she couldn't resist peering around the corner. Her eyes glanced down at ebony, Clydesdale-sized hooves and ran up the length of a sinister black horse to rest on the terrifying apparition mounted on top of it. The Dreadlord was even worse than Hoggle had described – a gigantic figure completely covered in gray and black armor decorated with fearsome designs. The Dreadlord's face was hidden by a huge metal helm bearing a pair of long, sharpened horns, and even the eye slits in the visor were eerily black. One gauntleted hand held the horse's reins loosely wrapped around the handle of a large battle axe and the other gauntleted hand sported a set of sharp metal claw-like projections. Before she knew what was happening, the figure craned its neck toward her in such a way that it was obvious she had been spotted. A deep, booming voice chuckled.

"Come out, little creature! I won't hurt you . . . ."

Barely daring to breathe, Sarah tried to withdraw further into the shadowy alleyway she was in, but something blocked her way. She could hear Hoggle mumbling nervously behind her. The Dreadlord chuckled again and directed his horse toward her spot of concealment. She could see as it drew closer that the animal had fangs jutting out on either side of its mouth.

"Come out, I said! Do you really think you can avoid me that way?"

Without realizing what she was doing, Sarah began to speak.

"P-piece of . . . . owww!" She felt a dwarfish foot kick her squarely in the ankle.

"And I see you have a little friend with you!" The Dreadlord rumbled. "I'd have thought that smart creatures would avoid my inspections. But then, I don't suppose you are very smart creatures." The dark knight dismounted and with thunderous, ground-shaking steps strode over until the blade of his axe was only inches from Sarah's face. "I haven't had a chance to kill anyone yet today," the Dreadlord snickered, waving the blade back and forth. Sarah breathed a not-so-silent plea.

"Jareth, please, please come back right now – I didn't mean anything please."

The Dreadlord drew back a step and snorted.

"The goblin king? He was a disappointing opponent."

"W-was?"

The Dreadlord shifted the battle axe to his clawed glove and reached inside a black pouch attached to his belt. He withdrew a shiny object on the end of a chain and waved it before Sarah's eyes. It was the crescent-shaped amulet that Jareth had worn when Sarah made her last journey into the Labyrinth. The dark giant shifted it in his hand and with one quick motion snapped the chain in half, letting the amulet fall to the ground.

"He's dead?" Sarah asked, shocked.

The Dreadlord only chuckled again coldly.

"You know, I don't think I'll kill you today. You're beneath contempt." With that, the Dreadlord remounted his horrible horse and rode away.

Sarah stood and stared at the metal crescent lying on the pavement. So that was the end of it. Jareth was dead.

" _It's only forever, not long at all . . . ."_

Hoggle slowly emerged from the alleyway and picked up the remains of the amulet, snuffling.

"He was a rotten, mean tyrant, but he was _our_ rotten, mean tyrant." The dwarf shook his head sadly. "I should never have brought you here, Sarah. It's too dangerous."

But Sarah shook her head with a sudden resolve. As much as she wished to be home right now, she knew what she had to do.

"I'm staying, Hoggle. You wanted me to help you get rid of that monster and that's what I'm going to do."

Hoggle looked around nervously.

"We'd better be leaving this place."

[-]

It had not taken the Dreadlord very long to get back to the castle that was now his, despite the twists and turns in his path. The creatures of the Labyrinth no longer dared to get in his way for the most part, but still they were annoying. At least the interior decorations of the castle were to his liking. Skulls and bats, very nice. Now if only he could find the magical treasures that he was sure this castle and the Labyrinth itself must conceal. He turned to the large demon that acted as his second in command.

"You know, I think I'm going to have another talk with our special guest."

The demon nodded and opened a door for his master. The Dreadlord stepped through and began his walk down the twisted halls and stairways that led to the dungeons. After half an hour he came to the place he was looking for. The demon guards stepped out of his way as he entered the chamber where a familiar figure was chained to the wall.

"And how are we feeling today?" The Dreadlord mocked. "We don't look well at all."

Jareth, ex-lord of the Labyrinth, only glared.


	4. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

After several hours of trudging through a Labyrinth that no longer shifted positions, Sarah and Hoggle came to a set of underground caverns marked only by a simple carved "X" and lit by some antique oil lamps mounted in the solid rock. As she followed Hoggle into the depths, Sarah was suddenly greeted by a loud, deep bellow and engulfed in a mound of shaggy orange fur.

"Sarah friend!"

"Ludo!" Sarah cried, hugging the big beast with relief. Soon she found herself whisked into a well-lit, homey area of the caves crammed with furniture and every kind of creature imaginable (and a few that weren't). Ludo dragged her over to a table loaded with food and pushed a bowl of fruit in front of her before grabbing a pile of it himself. After the simple meal, Sarah was introduced to a dozen new friends and acquaintances, but her eyes still searched for the old friend that wasn't there. Finally she spotted something that nearly tore her heart out – over in one corner of the caverns sat the big, hairy sheepdog Ambrosius, pining away for his master. She went and scratched at the dog's ears but he barely seemed to notice. Hoggle came over too and saw the tears that started streaming down Sarah's face.

"The last time I was here, it was all like a big, frightening game," she whispered. "Suddenly, this isn't a game anymore."

Hoggle, not knowing what to say, excused himself and wandered off to another part of the caverns alone. Eventually Sarah regained her composure and forced herself to look around and find something to keep herself occupied with. Ludo and most of the other creatures had gone to sleep and she didn't want to wake them up. Stepping over an obstacle course of hands, hooves, fur, and scales, she looked for Hoggle. Instead as she reached a corner of rock, she nearly tripped over a small being that seemed as forlorn and unaware of her as Ambrosius had been. It was a tiny, straw-haired goblin that had apparently escaped the wholesale massacre the dwarf had told her about, and far from being asleep, it was guarding with vigilance a burlap sack nearly twice its own size. As Sarah approached, the goblin at last noticed her, snatched the sack and bared its teeth in a gesture that wouldn't have frightened a gerbil.

"Not yours," the little goblin complained.

"Don't worry, I wasn't going to take it, honest," Sarah said, crouching down next to it. "My name's Sarah. What's yours?"

"Runt," the goblin answered, pointing to itself.

Trying to strike up an intelligent conversation with a goblin, Sarah soon found, was a little like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with all of one's fingers glued together, but after an hour she had actually made friends with Runt, who didn't seem as bad as she had thought all goblins to be. Eventually it too fell asleep, still clutching its sack, and Sarah tried to get some rest.

" _Everything I've done, I've done for you,"_ a voice sang in her head as she slept. A figure dressed all in white stood before her, holding out a crystal globe. _"Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave,"_ the voice said. But she didn't dare reach out for the globe, and the figure in white began shifting before her. Now it was a white owl flecked with black. It called out her name.

" _Sarah . . . ."_

As she reached out to it, the owl shattered and turned into dust at her feet.

"No!" Sarah yelled, being startled out of sleep by the strange dream, waking the little goblin next to her. Ludo, also hearing her shout, woke up and lumbered over, his gentle, furry face wrinkled with puzzlement.

"Sarah OK?" the lovable beast asked with concern, putting a huge arm around her. She nodded and tried to shake away her sleep.

"I guess I really am upset about this," she sighed, considering the recent news of Jareth's death. All the guilty, romantic feelings she had kept pent up for the past six months suddenly welled up inside her, and as Ludo sat down next to her, she began to pour out all her most heartfelt problems to him. She talked about her last faltering attempts to date the boys in high school who seemed like such unsophisticated, stupid klutzes, about the school dances she couldn't even be bothered with going to despite her stepmother's constant urging, about the boredom that had recently re-entered her life. And she talked about something she had never confided to anyone before – her last encounter with the goblin king and the temptation she had forced herself to refuse. Throughout it all, Ludo nodded dumbly and listened though he had no idea what his human friend was talking about. Finally, he gave her a big hug, since it was all he knew how to do.

"All right, don't you understand?" Sarah shuddered. "I had to get Toby back. I never meant for the goblins to take him away in the first place. And anyway, I'm sorry Jareth's dead."

Sarah broke off from her mumbling as she felt a sharp tug at her pants leg. She looked down to see the goblin named Runt staring up at her earnestly.

"Jareth not dead."

"What?"

"Jareth not dead! Runt know."

Sarah and Ludo turned to the little goblin and began to prompt a long, terrible story out of it.

[-]

The Dreadlord snorted and slumped down angrily in his new throne as neat rows of demons stood at attention before him. He dismissed them all with a wave of one hand and considered again his problems. Jareth was proving to be an annoyingly uncooperative prisoner. Aside from scaring all the demon guards with his strange eyes, he was resistant to the Dreadlord's sternest means of extracting information. Oh well, the goblin king (ex-goblin king?) wouldn't last much longer. He was scheduled to be executed in another week no matter what happened. And soon the two wanderers that the Dreadlord had encountered today and cleverly let go would spread to word to all the remaining inhabitants that Jareth was no more, and that there was no hope.

[-]

"But that's the craziest thing I've ever heard," Hoggle grumbled.

"But it's true!" Sarah had dragged the dwarf out of his sleep to hear what Runt had to say. "Jareth's alive and we know where he is!"

"Ah, how can you believe anything a goblin would say?" Hoggle eyed Runt suspiciously. The forlorn creature bared its teeth again and chattered at Hoggle.

"Is true! Is true! Runt never lie about Master!"

"Come on, Hoggle," Sarah insisted, carefully choosing her next words. "What choice do we have? You want to be rid of that demon-monster and Jareth's still our best chance, whether we like it or not."

The dwarf stared at the ground and shuffled his feet as if trying to decide between the lesser of two evils. "All right," Hoggle finally said. "But I hope you know what you're doing."


	5. Chapter Four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"I'm telling you, you've got to leave it behind!" Sarah tried reaching for Runt's sack again, only to have the goblin shrink back and clutch it even tighter. It was rather like trying to make Hoggle give up his bag of trinkets. "We can't afford to make any noise."

The little goblin was going to be insistent though, and right now they couldn't afford to argue with him. Runt had put a great deal of trust in them telling something that he alone could know. When the Dreadlord's demon army had stormed Jareth's castle two weeks ago, most of the goblins had gone out to join the battle, getting routed in the process. The rest had all disappeared into hiding places when they saw the demons winning. Only Runt had stayed in the castle with the king, keeping lookout in the rafters when the demons broke through.

The little goblin was rather confused as to what happened next, but there had been some kind of terrible battle that ended with Jareth being dragged away to the dungeons below the castle. Runt had miraculously escaped the demons' notice and come up with two plans to deal with the situation (never mind plan A, it was something only a goblin would think of). Runt had at last wandered into the Labyrinth looking for his fellow goblins to assist him with plan B (get Jareth out of the dungeons), but he had become hopelessly lost in the twisting maze for the past two weeks, found no other goblins, and had only just wandered into the place where other creatures had found refuge. Now he was counting on Sarah, Hoggle and Ludo to help him with plan B. They were not goblins, but they would just have to do.

Hoggle, meanwhile, clapped a hand over his forehead and groaned at the apparent disaster he had just committed himself to. Deliberately going into the dungeons where the Dreadlord was in control to look for someone who had threatened not once but several times to dump the dwarf into the Bog of Eternal Stench was not Hoggle's idea of a good time. And to sneak anywhere with Ludo and an over-possessive goblin . . . . Hoggle reopened his eyes and saw that the others had all gotten together and were waiting for him. He trotted over and posed the inevitable question.

"So we know where we're going. How do you propose we get there, eh?"

[-]

"They chose down?"

"They chose down!"

[-]

Pain. Pain is when thought has no meaning. But then, life had no meaning.

"You are a stubborn person," the Dreadlord commented.

Silence. Angry glare.

"Tighten the chains again," the Dreadlord instructed one of his demons, his order being instantly obeyed.

If Jareth had had strength enough left to wince, he probably would have.

[-]

Sarah never believed that there could be so many secret doors and underground passageways in one place. How Hoggle could find his way about this confusing maze was a mystery to her. But judging by Runt's agitated expression, they must be reaching the area underneath the castle that even he could recognize.

"Demons!" Hoggle whispered. "Look out!"

Sarah, Ludo, Hoggle and Runt did their best to squeeze back into the shadows as the patrol went by, followed by a clanking sound that could only mean that the Dreadlord was coming. As the huge dark knight passed them by, Sarah could hear him making a frustrated, muttering sound. She restrained a sigh of relief as she realized that they had not been spotted, then quickly clamped a hand over Runt's mouth as she saw him coming out of the shadows to make a meaningful gesture in the Dreadlord's direction. After several minutes had passed, the small group came out of hiding to continue their trek to the dungeons. After what seemed like hours, with Runt actually leading the way, they came to a set of heavy iron doors guarded by a pair of armed demons. Runt pointed excitedly to indicate that they had arrived, and from their spot of concealment, they made a hasty plan.

[-]

Xxxx and Lnnn were rather bored with their assigned duty, but being demons, they never complained. They stood at their post faithfully and hoped to be thrown the occasional goblin bone to gnaw on. They barely noticed that the wind in the caverns had taken on a strange, moaning sound unlike the others that can normally be heard around a dungeon. They did notice, however, when a small rock in front of them began to edge its way over into the shadows. Curiosity got the better of Xxxx, who went over into the darkness to investigate, and when Xxxx didn't return, Lnnn followed.

[-]

"At least these creatures are as stupid as goblins," Hoggle grumbled, fetching a set of keys from Xxxx's belt. Sarah flashed him a reproachful look and hoped Runt had not listened to that last remark, but Runt was no longer there. The small goblin had slipped through the bars of the gate and could be heard whimpering from somewhere up ahead. Sarah, Hoggle and Ludo quickly unlocked the gate and, staying alert for more demons, followed into the barely lit area of the dungeon, where they were greeted by an appalling sight.

Against one wall, a bedraggled figure had been hung in chains in an impossibly taut position, with blood staining its arms where the chain cuffs had cut into them. Through torn, ragged clothing dozens of other small injuries could be seen, and only a shallow breathing showed that the figure lived at all. Through tangled, muddy blond hair the face could not be seen, but there was no doubt as to the prisoner's identity.

"Jareth," Runt cried with frustration, trying to jump high enough to reach his Master.

Sarah and Hoggle, after recovering from their initial shock, went over and unlocked the lower chains. Fortunately, Ludo was tall enough to reach the higher ones and catch the limp body that fell down when those locks were released. Runt immediately threw himself on the unconscious goblin king and tried to shake Jareth awake, putting up quite a struggle when Sarah pulled him away. For just a moment, Jareth stirred and his eyes, blurry with pain, tried to comprehend the figures around him. His gaze turned toward Sarah and focused long enough for the shock of recognition to register in those eyes. An expression of pain more terrible than anything the Dreadlord had been able to get out of him crossed Jareth's face. He tried to say her name, but no sound would come out. Then he shuddered and collapsed again.

"We'd better get out of here," Hoggle mumbled, forcing Sarah to look up away from Jareth's face. Ludo picked the goblin king up and the group slipped back into the secret tunnels of the Labyrinth.


	6. Chapter Five

**CHAPTER FIVE**

In the two days since they had rescued him from the castle dungeons, Jareth had not reawakened, though the worst of his many injuries had been tended to by an appalled Sarah and her persistent (if not very helpful) goblin assistant. The goblin king had been placed in a neatly kept bed in a small, cluttered room apart from the rest of the caverns, and had been so unmoving and apparently lifeless as to seem more like a disturbing piece of furniture. Which was why Hoggle leaped back with surprise and apprehension when he walked into the room and was greeted by a blue-and-brown eyed stare.

"Hello, Hogwart," Jareth whispered hoarsely. The goblin king looked around a moment and was instantly familiar with his surroundings. He gave the dwarf an expression between a smile and a sneer. "You've redecorated. Interesting."

Sarah, who had followed Hoggle into the room, caught the conversation and the disconcerted grimace that came over the dwarf's face. The caverns they had found refuge in were unusually homey, but it had never occurred to Sarah whose home they might be. The dwarf wasn't as thick-skinned as he liked to appear.

Jareth clucked something in goblin language to Runt, who had been near the bed the whole time, and the goblin rushed off to return a few minutes later with a glass of water that he held up for his Master. Hoggle, meanwhile, had just worked up the courage to speak.

"Your, uh, majesty, I can . . . ."

"Haggle," Jareth interrupted between sips from the glass.

"That's Hoggle."

"Must you always wear those plastic things?" The goblin king looked down at his own bandage-wrapped wrists with distaste. "Now perhaps you wouldn't mind telling me what you've been up to?"

Hoggle shuffled his feet and explained as quickly as possible how Jareth had been brought to his caverns. Jareth scrutinized him throughout the whole story and, finishing his drink, spoke again.

"I see. Why?"

"Why?" Hoggle looked confused.

"Why did you come looking for me?"

"Well, the . . . uh . . . Dreadlord . . . ." Hoggle's voice tapered off as he turned to Sarah looking for an explanation, but there was no need. Jareth had obviously heard what he expected and was now lost in concentration. He seemed to ignore Sarah's presence in the room the whole time, but Sarah had a question of her own to ask, and summoning all her courage, walked over to the goblin king.

"Why didn't you just escape?"

"Hm?" Jareth looked up at her with some annoyance.

"It shouldn't have been that hard, not for you. Why didn't you just walk out of there?"

"Because I couldn't," Jareth grumbled. "You ask too many questions, Sarah."

But Sarah shook her head and made it clear that she wasn't just going to drop the subject. For once it was the goblin king's turn to appear uncomfortable as all eyes in the room were riveted on him. His answer was barely audible.

"My magic is gone."

Jareth stared down at his still-useless hands and Sarah could barely stand the tired, broken look that came over his face.

"It faded away months ago," Jareth whispered, lost in a trance. "If you wanted me to fight the demon king for you, I've nothing left to fight him with."

[-]

Artificial lightning streaked through the darkened castle as the Dreadlord continued to vent his rage, using the magic handle of his battle axe to shatter the air with electricity. For two days since he'd gone down to the dungeons and found the chain rack empty, he had been choking with anger. The goblin king had not escaped under his own power, that much was obvious. The miserable, puny demon guards who were supposed to have been watching him had allowed a group of resisters to ambush them, to their ultimate undoing. Xxxx and Lnnn had identified the attackers – a dwarf, a goblin, a great furry beast, and a girl – probably the same one he'd encountered earlier, dammit! He would have to learn more about her . . . . But now there was still the goblin king to be dealt with. Jareth was a potentially dangerous enemy who could not be allowed to live. The army of demons had been placed on full alert and were already combing every section of the Labyrinth for him. Zkkk, the demon lord's chief lieutenant, dared to approach the Dreadlord for his orders. The demon king waved him along in the direction of the others, but turned to make sure that his wishes were understood.

"If you have to," he said, "bring him back in pieces."

[-]

Silence. Angry glare.

"Oh, come on. It's good for you."

Silence. Angry glare.

With a sigh of frustration, Sarah set aside the glass of milk and began to wonder which was worse – babysitting Toby on one of his bad days, or trying to take care of an openly hostile, invalid goblin king. Jareth made no disguise of resenting her presence in the Labyrinth despite all her efforts to help him. He was still deathly pale and worn with fatigue, but at least his injuries were healing fast.

From outside the room, a sudden commotion could be heard. Hoggle was shrieking angrily and chasing after something that was thumping around the caverns. Suddenly, Runt raced into his Master's room dragging a large, ornate cane which he put on the goblin king's bed. Hoggle's voice followed him in.

"That's mine! That's mine! That's . . . ." Hoggle ran in and saw Jareth holding the cane, "yours. Of course, your majesty." He said, paling and backing off. Runt chittered at him brashly from under the bed.

Jareth turned the ebony black-and-silver cane in his hands. It would do. He turned to Hoggle, who was staring at him almost fearfully. The little dwarf rubbed his hands back and forth and spoke again.

"I, ah, have something else of yours, that is." Shrinking under Jareth's now curious expression, he reached into one of the pouches strapped to his belt and pulled out a crescent-shaped amulet with its chain intact. "I, ah, fixed it."

Jareth, forgetting his condition, reached out to snatch the amulet. After recovering from a flash of pain, he turned the familiar object over and over in his hands, and fixed Hoggle with a penetrating stare.

"Where did you get this?"

Hoggle quickly explained and Jareth, putting the amulet around his own neck, sat back with a distant look in his eyes.

"There may be a chance after all." Then, in somewhat better humor added, "the Dreadlord is a bigger fool than I thought." Jareth mumbled something in goblin language and Runt, coming out from under the bed, nodded to his Master and rushed out of the room. When it became obvious that the goblin king had nothing more to say, Hoggle and Sarah left as well.

Jareth regarded the departing dwarf out of the corner of his eye. An owl is born with all its questions answered. But – Jareth almost laughed at the irony of it – the king of the goblins was perhaps not an owl after all. Hoggle, once so predictable, had done Jareth a far greater favor than he realized. Now if only he could make use of it . . . .


	7. Chapter Six

**CHAPTER SIX**

"But you can't go out there on your own! The demons are everywhere!"

Jareth leaned heavily on the ornate black cane and stared back out toward the tunnels which led into the Labyrinth.

"Every day, the Dreadlord's hold grows stronger," the goblin king whispered. "I cannot afford to wait any longer." Jareth was looking more like his old, menacing self in a high-collared, elegant cape – the only piece of clothing he hadn't had to borrow. When Runt had seen the Dreadlord's demons break into the castle and vandalize or pillage everything in sight, the little goblin had been determined to save something for his Master. Runt had snuck past the demons and even the Dreadlord himself to get into one of Jareth's many chambers and had stolen one of Jareth's capes (which he put in a large sack), to save for the day when his Master was able to use it. There was only one problem.

 _Hell's bells,_ Jareth thought, _did it have to be the green one?_

"And anyway, you're still in no shape to travel," Sarah objected.

Jareth ignored her and turned to where Runt had assembled a small, motley group of strange creatures who were willing to do almost anything to fight the Dreadlord.

"They will create a diversion, and I can go out into the Labyrinth to do what the demon king fears most." A malicious grin crossed Jareth's face.

[-]

Zkkk made an inspection of his demon troops as they moved out beyond the castle into the abandoned goblin city. He had always been the chief of the Dreadlord's lieutenants, but this was his first independent command and he was not going to fail for anything. Zkkk had no objection to pieces. Obviously, his prey was not going to be getting anywhere fast, although finding him might be a problem, especially if many of the beings in the Labyrinth remained loyal to their old ruler. Ah well, it would make the game more fun. With a signal, Zkkk moved his troops out into the stone section of the maze.

[-]

"Here boy, here boy," Sarah whistled to Ambrosius in mock eagerness, but the sheepdog wouldn't move. He seemed determined to just lay there and die, hoping to rejoin his owner. Something, Sarah thought grimly, would have to be done about this. Sir Didymus would never have wanted his faithful steed to end up like this.

"Sarah sad?" Ludo inquired from behind her.

"Ambrosius sad," she replied, giving up on her current efforts to rouse him. As she turned around, she could swear she saw Ludo starting to cry.

"Ludo sad too."

Enough was enough!

"Come on, don't you start acting that way!" Sarah insisted, giving her big, furry friend a hug. She knew Ludo would be going off with Runt and the others soon to create the distraction that Jareth needed (and hopefully give the Dreadlord a real headache at the same time), and Sarah wanted him to go off in the best of spirits rather than the worst of them.

Meanwhile, Sarah had plans of her own to make. She looked around for Hoggle and waited until the dwarf was by himself after a long day of trying to rearrange his overcrowded household. Then, taking out a piece of junk jewelry that she'd kept concealed in one of her pockets, she went over to strike yet another bargain.

[-]

The Dreadlord stared with wry amusement at the vicious little monsterling that snapped in his direction at the end of a long stick. Nippers, the locals called them . . . handy enough . . . he could use a few of the things in his own dimension, if he was ever able to reassert his control there. The mass public executions that he had so favored in the past had left even the most timid of his subjects rebellious, and only the considerable forces of demons that had remained loyal to him had given him the leisure to stage this invasion. But once he had this new territory conquered and assimilated, he could go back to his own kingdom with such a force that no one would ever question his not-so-benign ways again. That is, once a few last minor details were cleared up.

[-]

Jareth stood alone in the shadows of the cavern entrance, waiting for the last of the daylight to fade, annoyed at the thought that he could no longer speed it up himself.

" _I move the stars for no one . . . ."_

It was almost time for him to leave, whether he felt up to it or not. The distraction he had arranged should be taking place within hours, and he would never have a better chance. Suddenly his icy blue and brown eyes came alert as he heard sounds behind him. He recognized them without glancing back.

"What do you want, Sarah?"

"Are we going to be going soon?" She asked innocently.

" _We_?"

"Well, you're obviously going to need some help."

Jareth slowly turned around and Sarah almost lost her nerve as she saw the hardened, imperious expression on his face.

" _I_ ," he said, tightening his grip on the cane, "am leaving on my own. I suggest you stay here and make yourself useful, if you can. Or you can always go back to your own world." For an instant, the hardened look vanished as he regarded her with what seemed like a mixture of intrigue and polite concern. "It's too dangerous."

"So?" Sarah was trying not to act as worried as she felt. "After all, I made it through the Labyrinth the last time, didn't I? It was . . . ."

Jareth smiled with a tinge of irony.

"A piece of cake? Is that it?" He became icy again. "Sarah, I was playing by the rules. They may have been my rules, but they were still rules. _That_ ," he said, pointing toward the distant castle and leaving no doubt as to whom he was indicating, "has no rules. I was trying to stop you, not destroy you. I could have, you know.

"

Sarah still stared at him in determination. With a weary sigh, he continued.

"Do you really know what the Labyrinth is like? You were here only for hours – you know nothing! I know every inch, every centimeter of this Labyrinth. If it were taken apart brick by brick, I would know where each and every one of them came from. There are horrors here you cannot imagine. Go back home, Sarah."

"No," she shook her head with resolve, defying him once again. "I said I was going to help fight the Dreadlord, and I will. Besides, you need us."

For the first time, Jareth noticed Hoggle crouching back in a corner. Maybe Sarah had been unaffected by his words, but the dwarf clearly was not. Hoggle was now mumbling a protective oath under his breath and giving a frown of sincere regret to the new bauble around his neck.

"You know, he's right," Hoggle muttered guiltily, giving Sarah a pleading glance.

"Hoggle!"

"I know, I know, we made a bargain, but . . . ."

"Hoggle!"

The dwarf shrugged, knowing he couldn't win. Why did he even bother trying?

Jareth nodded to himself and considered his unexpected circumstances. He didn't want anyone to follow him where he was going, but at least if Hoggle came along, there would be an opportunity to use him later – to send Sarah back. The sun was down now. Jareth looked out into the Labyrinth.

"Shall we be going?"


	8. Chapter Seven

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Nnnn, the demon guard on watch duty, was the first to notice the clouds of dust that were obscuring the torches mounted on the gates to the goblin city, now the demon city. The mute guard scratched his horns as he tried to figure out what could be causing it. Then he heard the rumbling sound and noticed the low, round objects that were approaching his tower in frightening numbers. Without hesitation, he sounded the alarm gong and the battalions of demons came alert as they realized that their stronghold was under attack. The city was suddenly filled with an avalanche of rocks that seemed to move about with a will of their own. The demons rushed forth to meet them.

In his throne room in the castle, the Dreadlord noticed the sounds of the battle immediately. He had been expecting Jareth to make his move, though he was surprised that the goblin king was capable of doing it so soon. He got up, battle axe in hand, and motioned to a pair of his personal guardsmen.

"See if there are any dwarves or goblins in the city," he said, hoping they might find the particular ones he was looking for. It would be stupid for the human girl or the great, furry beast to reveal themselves among the attackers – they would be much too conspicuous. Still, the demon king was sure he would get his hands on them sooner or later, and when he did . . . .

From a far corner of the city, a wall could be heard crumbling. The Dreadlord's eight foot tall frame shook with anger. He wanted as little damage as possible done to his new territory and it was obvious that he would have to go out and check on the battle himself. Didn't those idiots understand the first thing about what was going on? Any true battle strategist would have known, but the king of the demons had to point it out to them as if they were morons. At least Zkkk and some of the other chief lieutenants weren't so hopeless. With a curse, the Dreadlord stormed outside.

[-]

Jareth, Sarah and Hoggle had trudged wearily toward a segment of the Labyrinth that lay far to the west, burdened by a reluctant sheepdog. Sarah had insisted on bringing Ambrosius along on the dangerous journey, since anything would be better than letting the dog rot away in his own misery as he had been. Ambrosius did not appear to share these sentiments, but at least the dog had regained some of its healthy appetite along the way. Sarah, meanwhile, kept a concerned eye on Jareth, who was barely managing the trek even with his cane, though his sense of navigation was faultless. Finally they came to a shaded section of wall and shrub. Jareth scanned the worn-out bricks and placed his hand against one of them. Immediately the wall swung aside to reveal a small cavern whose out-jutting sections resembled pieces of furniture. Even Hoggle didn't recognize this place, and examined the cave with fascination. Jareth, with a mocking wave of his hand, motioned them into the cavern and then pressed another brick that caused the wall to move back into place behind them.

"We rest here," he said, sinking down onto one of the larger cave projections. Sarah and Ambrosius were also grateful for the chance to stop walking, but Hoggle seemed edgy and regarded the goblin king with suspicion.

"Where exactly are we going?"

Jareth ignored the question.

"And why did you send the others to attack the goblin city? It's the most obvious target possible!"

"Obviously," Jareth grinned.

"But then the Dreadlord will know it's only a diversion."

"Of course."

"But . . . . but," Hoggle paled, "that means he'll be sending the entire army after us!" The dwarf felt a little faint.

"Yes."

For a moment, the king of the goblins allowed himself a completely malicious smile, then he leaned up against an outcrop of rock and fixed Hoggle with a serious stare. Sarah, picking up the threads of the conversation, suddenly realized what Jareth's plans were.

"You're going to lead them all into a trap?" It seemed impossible. What could be big enough to stop an entire army? Reading her mind, Jareth spoke again.

"I told you the Labyrinth was a dangerous place."

Hoggle, fighting down a choking panic, trembled as a horrible thought crept over him.

"We wouldn't . . . we wouldn't be headed toward that place that's forbidden for us to talk about, would we? I mean, not the . . . ." His voice trailed off as the goblin king nodded.

Jareth, with some effort, got up and clapped a not-so-friendly hand on Hoggle's shoulder.

"So," he said, "now that we both understand what I'm trying to do, why don't you, Hogbrain, do us both a favor and take Sarah and that overgrown mongrel back to your caves, where they won't be any trouble?"

"What?" Sarah exclaimed, scarcely believing how ungrateful the goblin king could be. She hadn't come this far to be insulted.

"Come on, Sarah," Hoggle pleaded, tugging at her hand.

"No!" She said, pulling away and bringing herself face to face with Jareth, who gave her his most imperious, frightening glare. "You don't scare me!"

Before Jareth realized what she was going to do, she snatched away his black cane. The goblin king had to reach out quickly to support himself on one of the rocky projections.

"Don't you see," she said, waving the cane. "You can't face the demons alone like this! You can barely even walk! You'll never survive-" The words died in her throat as she saw the calm look on Jareth's face. Hoggle took her wrist again and muttered something that hit her like a brick wall.

"Nobody survives where he's going."

[-]

The battle in the goblin city was finally starting to go the demons' way, as the giant, strangely animated rocks were forced back with hastily constructed battering rams. Ludo and the others were outnumbered, but then, they had only meant to create a diversion. As the demons advanced, Ludo sounded a different howl and the rocks and other creatures began to fall back. Ludo looked around dimly trying to see if everyone had heard him.

"You're sure this is the one?" The Dreadlord asked, holding the struggling goblin in the net before him. The mute figures of Xxxx and Lnnn nodded in affirmation. It was the only expressiveness they were capable of, since the demon king had removed their arms and legs as punishment for their failure in guarding the dungeons. Runt, looking directly into the Dreadlord's face (or the armored visor that passed for one), was too terrified to wonder what was going to be done to him.

"I wonder what the best way of cooking goblin is," the Dreadlord mused, glancing from Runt to a nearby campfire with sinister amusement. "Barbecuing might be too quick." The king of the demons picked up a burning stick from the fire and was about to hold it to the net when a rumbling sound from behind distracted him. He turned around just in time to see a small avalanche of rocks come rolling into the camp. Knocked off balance by the stones cascading around his boots, the Dreadlord lost his grip on the net holding Runt. Xxxx and Lnnn were mercifully trampled under the rocks, and by the time the Dreadlord had recovered his footing and grabbed his lethal battle axe there was no sign of the prisoner. The king of the demons screeched in frustration.

[-]

Ludo had made sure he was far from the Dreadlord's encampment before he took the time to deal with the trembling bundle he was carrying. Released from the net, Runt hugged the big monster with gratitude and chittered something unintelligible in the goblin language. Ludo patted him on the head.

"Ludo and Runt friends."

[-]

"Enough," Jareth said, standing up and indicating that the time for rest was passed. He did not even bother to look at Sarah or Hoggle, since he had already decided they would be sent back and there was nothing further to argue about. He reached for the secret section of the wall that caused the cave to open again and they walked out into the last darkness of the fading night.

Ambrosius, senses still keener than the rest, stiffened almost immediately and made a low, whining sound in his throat. Something was moving about in the shadows. Jareth motioned for the others to be still and silently cursed again the loss of his own magic. They shouldn't be this close, not yet.

Zkkk, taller than most demons at six feet, stepped forward to confront his prey. With a motion of the demon lieutenant's hand, the surrounding shrubbery sprouted pole arms, spears, and glowing red pairs of demon eyes. Sarah and Hoggle turned around and saw more demons blocking the entrance to the cave. They were trapped.


	9. Chapter Eight

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"Do something!" Sarah cried as the demons raced toward them, weapons raised.

Jareth laughed bitterly.

"I have no power over you, remember? I have no power over anyone . . . ." But as the largest of the demons came at him with a sword raised, the goblin king reached for the amulet around his neck. Only inches away from him, Zkkk stopped in his tracks and stared ahead in confusion. The other demons also milled about, looking for something to swing at.

"Quickly," Jareth hissed. "They can no longer see us or hear us. We must leave."

Sarah, Hoggle and Ambrosius followed Jareth through the temporarily disrupted line of the Dreadlord's soldiers, trying not to make physical contact with any of them. They soon found themselves in the midst of a forest that seemed to move about as they walked through it. From far behind them came an angry clanking of weapons, but the demons seemed to be giving up the pursuit. Zkkk and his demons were still trying to figure out just what the hell had happened. Sarah noticed that the tree roots around her were carefully covering up their tracks. Jareth struggled through to a clearing up ahead and leaned against a gnarled, barren tree trunk whose bark was all clumped on one side in an oval shape. The goblin king reached around the edge of the bark and pulled it aside to reveal yet another secret door. With an impatient wave, he beckoned them through down a dark set of stairs that lead far underground. The downward climb seemed to go on forever, but after about half an hour they came to the bottom of the stairs at a shadowy, musty platform with a sealed-off oak door. Jareth collapsed to the floor moaning and Sarah, Hoggle and Ambrosius panted for breath.

"That was too close," Sarah gasped.

The goblin king nodded weakly. After resting for several minutes, he pulled himself into a sitting position and looked at Sarah with rue.

"It seems I have underestimated my opponents. Again," he sighed. "I have no choice now but to take you with me. There is no safe way back."

"I knew it," Hoggle mumbled, holding his face in his hands. "We're all doomed."

Sarah, confused, slumped down onto the floor and tried to meet Jareth's gaze. He turned away from her.

"I'm not given to throwing my life away," he said. "There _is_ a way. But you must do exactly – _exactly_ – as I tell you. You will obey me," he glanced back at Sarah, "or you will die. Do you understand?"

Sarah hesitated for a moment, then agreed. When she looked at Jareth again, he was already asleep.

[-]

Zkkk snarled and hacked with fury at the twisting branches that were continually getting in his way. For hours his demons had scoured this accursed forest with not a trace of luck. In fact, one demon had already been killed after tripping over an animated tree root and breaking his neck. The Dreadlord's chief lieutenant gritted his fangs with frustration. His prey would not get away so easily a second time.

[-]

"So where is this place we're going to?" Sarah asked Hoggle for the hundredth time.

The dwarf only gave her a fearful look and continued walking along behind as the small group headed westward. Finally, convinced that he could speak without being heard by the now-magicless Jareth, Hoggle said something that did little to relieve her confusion.

"It's a place no one has ever seen and lived to tell about, that's what I've heard. Nobody sane that is." After a moment he added, "they say that just to go near it or look at it is certain death."

But what 'it' was, Sarah still couldn't find out. She just wished it wasn't so damn far to walk to. She'd been one of the few persons privileged enough to see the Labyrinth from a distance, looking out at it from a high cliff, but as impressed as she had been at the time, she had still gotten no idea of how big Jareth's former kingdom actually was. It must have been created with dimension warps beyond belief, and the true boundaries of the kingdom stretched far beyond the outermost walls of the Labyrinth itself. That Jareth could rule such a place was almost unbelievable. That the Dreadlord could have taken it all over in just a matter of weeks was terrifying. But the demons seemed to be everywhere. Several times, much to Jareth's utter indignation, they had been forced to keep to the shadows to avoid being seen by patrols, and none of them had to be reminded of the vast numbers that would be searching them out in accordance with Jareth's plan.

Two days of the journey had passed before they heard the sounds of fighting coming from somewhere up ahead of them. As they came to a clearing in what was a thicker part of the forest they were traveling in, they could see three of the hated demons trying to disarm another creature, presumably one of the Labyrinth's inhabitants. The demons' intended victim had a small sword with which it was keeping them at a distance while uttering fierce battle cries. It seemed as if the small creature might be winning the battle until eight more of the demons jumped out from behind the trees.

Before Sarah realized what was happening, Ambrosius let out a mighty yip and bounded toward the demons with teeth bared. Their location given away, Jareth, Sarah and Hoggle saw five of the demons break off from the main attack and rush at them. Jareth cursed and then, with the skill of a master swordsman, dispatched two of the attackers with his cane. Sarah kicked away at a demon that had come rushing after her, while Hoggle trotted up and coshed it on the head with his canteen. Jareth, with a look of vicious determination, did in yet another demon, but the fifth, glaring angrily at them, rushed off into the woods. Ambrosius and the original object of the attack, meanwhile, had taken care of the other three demons and were standing victorious over the wreckage. Sarah, catching her breath, looked to see what could have made the normally cowardly and morose sheepdog charge into battle like that. When she saw who Ambrosius was standing next to, however, she got a shock that nothing could have prepared her for. Sarah stared at the dashing figure, who was much too young to be a ghost.

"Sir Didymus is my name," the little humanoid fox said, bowing and tipping its hat to the rest of them. It turned back toward Ambrosius and gave the sheepdog an affectionate pat. "My father's faithful old steed! But where is my lord himself?"

"Did you say your name was Sir Didymus?" Sarah gulped, something catching in her throat.

"Indeed, Milady," the fox regarded her curiously. "Sir Didymus IV at your service. As you have been at mine. I thank you."

Hoggle and Sarah exchanged stricken looks and after a few moments told the little knight of his father's death. Ambrosius, who had been wagging his tail enthusiastically for the first time in weeks, started whining as he saw the younger Sir Didymus remove his cap in tribute to the fallen fighter.

"And did he die bravely?" The fox inquired. "Then that is the way it should be," he added, seeing their nods. "We are met with double misfortune then, for my own good mount was struck down these three weeks past. Yet though death itself may face us," he gestured dramatically with his sword, "shall we Didymi fight for the right as one!"

The little cavalier saluted the others with the sword and placed it back in his scabbard.

"Your assistance was indeed timely, though I am not afraid to face the enemy in any numbers, of course. You, Sir," he said, nodding to Jareth, "show a great skill at arms. Can it be that you are a knight as well?"

The goblin king, a bit annoyed that there was someone in his kingdom who did not recognize him, remained silent. Sarah and Hoggle introduced themselves and asked Sir Didymus what had caused him to venture out into such a hostile area.

"I am on a great mission," the fox swelled himself with pride, "to bear a message to his majesty King Jareth in the goblin city that lies far to the east of here."

The goblin king leaned heavily on his cane and waited for a few minutes.

"Well," Jareth said finally, "what is the message?"

The fox shot him a dubious glance, still not recognizing who he was speaking to.

"That, Sir," he stated, "is classified information! I could not possibly give it out in such indiscreet manner! Besides, there is a problem."

"Yes, yes?" Jareth cried out impatiently.

"I cannot remember what the message is."

The king of the goblins, in a remarkably calm and dignified gesture, resisted the urge to strangle the messenger.

"And," the little fox coughed, "I do not believe I have had the pleasure to know your name yet."

"It isn't important. Obviously." The goblin king growled.

Sarah, fearful of some impromptu violence, placed a hand on Jareth's arm. The king of the goblins looked down at her for a moment and his face took on a serious expression. Then Jareth turned back to Sir Didymus and gave him some sound advice.

"I would not travel directly east of here if I were you, as there is a rather large contingent of demons on its way." He sounded worried. "The one who got away will surely warn them of our presence. If you want your message to get through," he added with a touch of sarcasm, "you will go southeast. In any event, I am certain that an additional fighter will be of use among the goblins." _If any still exist_ , he thought.

Sir Didymus bowed in grateful acknowledgment of the warning and was nearly knocked over by a sudden nudge from Ambrosius. A few minutes later, it was agreed that Ambrosius had found a new owner and Sir Didymus a new mount. Jareth, at least, would be very glad to see the last of that dog, who had made an undignified traveling companion at best, and a dangerously mindless one at worst. What lay ahead would require a great deal of concentration.

Another day of travel westward brought Jareth, Hoggle and Sarah through a rocky plain to the beginnings of another forest different from any other Sarah had seen. The leaves of the trees and even the bark of the branches glistened as they swayed in a perfume-scented breeze. To Sarah, the trees were beautiful, but the goblin king and Hoggle regarded them with grim frowns. Jareth turned to Sarah and fixed her with a hard stare.

"Do _exactly_ what I say." He motioned them toward the forest. "This way lies the Glimmer Pond."


	10. Chapter Nine

**CHAPTER NINE**

Every step the king of the goblins took was slow and deliberate as he led the other two through the forest. He and Hoggle acted as if every tree root or rock might be a land mine, but Sarah, despite her best attempts to remain serious, was enjoying herself. The air here hummed with music, beautiful music, reminding her of a ballroom that she had visited an eternity ago. But that had only been a dream, hadn't it? This was for real. The butterflies in the branches, the wild flowers and the grass – it all seemed so perfect.

"It's gorgeous," she sighed.

Hoggle grumbled at her.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" He kicked a stone and glanced wonderingly at it as colored sparkles glinted on its surface. Then, tearing himself away with a shudder, he began lecturing her.

"See, you can't let it get to you. You've got to make yourself think it's ugly or you'll never escape the . . . ." He glanced at Jareth fearfully, ". . . . Pond. You'll be stuck here for the rest of your life, which will only be a few hours. You'll never escape the Glimmer Pond."

Sarah still didn't fully understand.

"How can anything with such a pretty name, in such a wonderful place be so bad? I don't see how this is going to get rid of the demons."

Jareth, who had been listening carefully to the conversation, stopped walking along and reached out to grab Sarah by the shoulder.

"Do you want to know what the Glimmer Pond is?" he said, voice filled with anger. "I will tell you! It is a lake, a bottomless lake, and it is the most wonderful, attractive place in the entire Labyrinth. It is so wonderful, in fact, that if you go anywhere near it you will simply keep on going until you fall into the lake and drown." He gripped her arm even tighter and continued. "It is rumored that the Pond's water has great magical properties that allow it to cure all physical ills. Because of this, countless creatures have tried anchoring themselves to trees and gone walking straight toward the Pond, leaving their friends to pull them back a few minutes later. They have all returned," he sighed, "hopelessly, violently insane. The mere sight of the Pond does this."

He waited until the full import of his words had sunken in.

"In all the Labyrinth," Jareth said, "I am the only one who knows exactly how close one may approach the Pond and escape without losing one's sanity. We will leave a careful trail for the demons to follow, as I have been doing, and we will get as near the Pond as we dare. Then we may go back east by another route. The demons know nothing of the true nature of this place. They will all drown."

Listening to him, Sarah was shocked by the coldness of his words. She had naively assumed that there would be a way to get rid of the demons without killing them all. But remembering the grim piles of corpses she had seen on the way back from the castle dungeons, even she realized now there must be no other way. The many sentient beings who lived in the Labyrinth had never asked for this invasion, and had suffered horrible losses already.

These somber thoughts vanished from Sarah's mind, however, as they got nearer and nearer their destination. Now she ran her hands along the tree branches they passed by just to feel them. Touching the tree bark was like touching plush velvet. And the music in the air was without a doubt the most magical sound she had ever heard. Even Hoggle had stopped looking so terrified and was starting to enjoy their surroundings. This place was so warm and sunny she just wanted to stay here forever. She barely noticed when Jareth raised one arm and called a halt to their expedition. She saw a pretty rock, it was more like a gemstone, in the forest just up ahead. She walked onward to go get it when Jareth's cane, with a thundering crack, struck a tree only inches from her face.

"Not one step further," the goblin king hissed angrily. "We have come far enough. We must go back now."

What was he talking about? He had a funny look on his face, Sarah thought. Maybe he was upset about something, but she couldn't see what. After all, the forest wasn't the least bit dangerous, and even her dwarf friend wanted to trudge onward.

"I'll go get it for you, Sarah," Hoggle offered gladly, nodding toward the jewel-like rock. As he trotted up, Jareth sent him reeling backwards with a vicious kick. The dwarf got up, brushed himself off, and trotted forward again. Meanwhile, Sarah tried to shake away the black cane that was blocking her path.

Jareth glanced from one glazed expression to another as he tried to figure his way out of this dilemma. Without a free hand, he couldn't hold both of them back for very long and the magic here was hard for even him to resist. It still pained him to walk but there was only one thing he could do. With an angry curse, Jareth lifted the cane and with as much strength as he had, flung it far into the forest in the direction of the Glimmer Pond. Then, grabbing Sarah with one hand and Hoggle with the other, he began dragging them away from it and toward the southeast. They clawed and struggled, trying to get toward the lake that glistened in the forest only a mile away. But it was a losing battle. Step by slow step, stumble by stumble, the blinding beauty around them seemed to fade. The trees lost their music and wonderful texture, and the world became a muddy, unattractive night.

When Sarah opened her eyes, she was completely disoriented. What had she been doing? She was almost afraid to turn around and see the junk lady standing near her with a teddy bear. She could hear Hoggle's familiar voice grumbling about something and as she got up, she saw him standing near Jareth, who was sprawled on the ground and dazed from exertion. She opened her hand and found a small scrap of clothing and bandage crumpled in it.

"It's over," the goblin king groaned. "The trap is set. Now all that remains is for the demons to spring it."

[-]

The army of demons was riding in proud force, Zkkk thought, as he calculated that there was no way the prey could escape them this time. True, it was a bit ridiculous to be sending so many troops after just one man, but no one questioned the Dreadlord's orders. Zkkk thought long and hard about the different ways he could dismember the one he sought. He had permission. And for once, the terrain of the Labyrinth wasn't slowing any of them down in the least. It was beckoning them on lovingly, with an attractiveness that even a demon could appreciate.

[-]

A long march to the south, Sarah, Hoggle and Jareth had set up camp in a small, rocky canyon, grateful that the most dangerous part of their trek was apparently over. Sarah had helped Jareth along and, blushing to herself, did not want to admit how much she enjoyed having him lean on her shoulder. She could remember how she'd felt when she danced with him once, before the clock struck twelve. But she couldn't tell from looking at him what, if anything, he felt.

Jareth, sitting down near a rock, reached for a canteen that had been placed in with the others. It looked perfectly innocent. He never suspected a thing as he raised it up to drink. No sooner had he sampled the contents when a shudder shook his whole frame. He sat bolt upright and Hoggle came rushing over.

"Poison?"

The king of the goblins shot Sarah a horrified look. Sarah tried not to laugh too hard as she saw him.

"Oh, don't give me that," she grinned in Jareth's direction. "I said it was good for you."

For a moment, all was silent. Then Jareth raised his head and laughed at the first decent practical joke that he'd experienced in months, perhaps years. Never let it be said that the king of the goblins had no sense of humor.

[-]

Pretty, pretty, pretty. Oh, so pretty!

Pretty enough to kill for, one, two, three.

Zkkk finally shook himself free of the leather thong that had caught his booted foot, and he giggled maniacally as he kicked the corpse of his demon horse.

Nasty horsey mustn't bolt, no, no. Not just because of an insect bite, four, seven, eight. Pretty, pretty.

Zkkk had seen the pretty place and had been dragged away from it. Pretty, pretty. Nasty horsey sure bled a lot, five, nine, ten.

All the demons gone, but not Zkkk, no, no. Zkkk couldn't go with them into the pretty water. Three, eleven, two. Pretty, pretty.

Zkkk had to kill the pretty goblin doll for his master. Pretty, pretty, even prettier without a head, one, ten.

But then Zkkk could go back to the pretty, pretty. Back with all the other demons. Eight, five.

Zkkk giggled again and took a long drink of the bad horsey's blood. Then, slashing at the funny trees with his sword, he swaggered off southeast. Pretty, pretty.

[-]

Sarah stared down at the teeming pit with horror as they prepared to cross the bridge. There must have been thousands of nipper beasts crawling and jumping about, fortunately too far below to get anywhere near her or her companions. She had been afraid of the rickety bridge over the Bog of Eternal Stench and she didn't even want to think about what would happen if this bridge broke. But then, this one was made of sturdy metal and didn't seem the least bit unsteady. She remembered how poor Ludo had been tormented by goblins using the nippers as weapons, and she shivered again.

"They're horrible," she said.

The goblin king looked amused.

"Are they? At least they belong here. Or would you like to see them all drowned along with the demons? There is a convenient water source on the other side." He smiled as he saw her look of revulsion. "One can't always be above everything. I didn't create these creatures and I won't destroy them. They are as much a part of the Labyrinth as the foxes, fireys and the goblins."

"They're still horrible."

"Beautiful Sarah," Jareth said in a not-so-mocking tone, "you still understand so little."

She pondered on that as they made their way across the bridge with no problem. A protective railing ran all around the massive pit to keep the nippers from getting out and tearing up the countryside. But with the railing no longer blocking their view, Sarah could see the 'convenient water source' that Jareth had mentioned. The pearlescent fountain in the shape of a giant cactus stood about twenty feet high, and placed so close to the nipper pit it looked absurd. Only in the Labyrinth would one see a desert object spouting water in all directions. Hoggle, who had gone on ahead by a few hundred feet, was taking the opportunity to refill some of the canteens, since a long journey still lay ahead of them. Jareth was not leading them back to the goblin city, but seemed to have yet another mysterious destination in mind. Jareth leaned up against a rocky outcrop in this canyon while Sarah ran up to examine the fountain a bit closer. The goblin king admired her at this distance. She was still the same stubborn, determined girl who had gone through his Labyrinth like a crusader over half a year ago – still too young, but in many ways a lot more grown up. If only . . . .

"Who made it?" Sarah asked, running her hands along a metal cactus branch.

Jareth forced himself away from his previous train of thought and gave her an acknowledging, artistic nod.

"It appealed to my mood at the time," he explained.

Hoggle had finished filling the canteens and was now taking a rest near the fountain while Sarah spent a moment trying to wash some of the trail dust off her face. She blinked a moment and then looked over at Jareth standing against the outcrop, just in time to see the huge, maniacal figure of the Dreadlord's demon lieutenant Zkkk rise up directly behind him. By the time she could scream out a warning, it was already too late.


	11. Chapter Ten

**CHAPTER TEN**

Pretty, pretty, Zkkk thought, trying to rip the goblin king's head off. Funny, it didn't seem to want to come loose.

Jareth struggled, making strange choking noises as he tried to pry the huge demon's hands away from his throat. Zkkk was dragging them both closer and closer to the railing that guarded the nipper pit, and the nippers were becoming excited, gnashing their hundreds of teeth in anticipation.

Sarah quickly grabbed a water-filled canteen and raced over, trying to conk the demon with it just as Hoggle had done with one of the smaller demons they'd encountered.

"Let go!" she screamed, whacking it repeatedly.

Zkkk, temporarily taking one of his hands off his chosen prey, swatted Sarah away as he would an insect, with brutal force. She was flung against the rocks about ten feet away and slid down to the ground stunned. Jareth, rapidly losing consciousness, could feel the railing behind him and tried to brace himself against being thrown into the pit. The nippers hopped up and down with ravenous delight as he was forced even nearer to them. Hoggle had hurried to where Sarah had fallen and was now searching for some object with which to fight Zkkk off.

Zkkk looked down at the nippers. Pretty little biters, three, six.

Suddenly, the air was pierced by a strange whizzing sound. Zkkk's body gave a small jerk and his crazed eyes blinked for a moment. Jareth, feeling the grip on him loosen, pushed the demon toward the railing and struggled for leverage. Another whooshing sound had a similar effect on the demon, but Zkkk was still intent on throttling his enemy. Sarah, fighting off her dizziness, stood up and ran over to try to help Jareth again. She could see what appeared to be two crossbow bolts sticking out of the demon's back, but nothing was stopping him. In another few seconds, he and Jareth would both be thrown into the vicious, writhing pit. The railing, not used to a heavy onslaught, was giving way. Sarah grabbed the goblin king to anchor him just as another crossbow bolt slashed through the air and embedded itself in Zkkk's shoulder, making him release his grip. The demon went over the edge and fell straight into the pile of eager nippers. The air filled with horrible chomping sounds as Zkkk's body disappeared, and a few seconds later some bits of armor and polished red demon bones rose to the surface. Jareth stayed in Sarah's arms, coughing and choking, as she pulled them away from the broken railing. Hoggle came over along with their mysterious rescuer to help.

"Sir Didymus!" Sarah cried.

The fox warrior set aside his crossbow and bowed to her again. Ambrosius, cautiously peering around a rocky corner to make sure everything was safe, trotted into view.

"Indeed, Milady, it would seem fate has given me a chance to repay my debts." Sir Didymus explained how he had gotten lost along his way and had seen a huge army of demons riding into the forbidden place in the west. "The one," he said, pointing toward the pit, "alone came out with the madness upon him. Methought it best to track him down."

Jareth gratefully accepted a drink from a canteen and after he was able to talk again, identified the demon.

"The Dreadlord's second-in-command," he said. "I remember him." After a few moments, he added, "are you sure none of the others returned?"

"Not a one," Sir Didymus told him. "Hundreds of demons went into that place and we shall never see them again. Only your attacker survived."

"Then my plan worked," Jareth sighed, rubbing his bruised throat. Sir Didymus looked at him in confusion until the goblin king admitted that he was on a mission too. "I must stop the Dreadlord before his hold on the Labyrinth becomes unbreakable."

This time the bandages that were still wrapped around Jareth's wrists did not escape Sir Didymus' notice. The little fox shook with anger.

"And does this King Jareth send the injured to do his work for him?" Sir Didymus cried. "Show me that scoundrel!"

Hoggle coughed and explained in as diplomatic a tone as possible that the man he was looking at was the king of the goblins himself.

"King of the goblin," Jareth corrected bitterly. "Besides myself, there seems to be only one left."

"But that was my message, noble Sir," Didymus informed him, wondering what was the proper protocol to use before an actual monarch. "I was to inform your majesty that the scattered goblins of your own army were found and regrouped on my family estate. My brothers have been training them up more in the use of arms and battle tactics, and they are preparing to go east to return to their city and assist you against the king of the demons."

Jareth cheered noticeably at the news that so many of his imbecilic subjects were still alive, but soon a serious mood overtook him again.

"They mustn't make their attack too soon," he said. "The larger part of the demon army may have been eliminated, but a force will still remain around the goblin city and the castle. And I need a weapon with which to fight the Dreadlord."

Sir Didymus removed his sword from its scabbard and offered it to the goblin king. Jareth tried not to smirk too much as he regarded the miniscule metal stick.

"I'm afraid that won't do. The demon king is a powerful, dangerous enemy and well-armed. His battle axe has a handle that can give off long-range electrical blasts. They can be quite painful." He thought for a moment, then added, "No, I will require a weapon that is equally powerful. I have one in mind. I go to seek it now." Completely under his own power this time, Jareth stood up and gave the fox warrior a quick appraisal. "Do you still wish to be of service? If at any time in the future I am in a position to do so, I will reward you for this thing."

"No recompense is required for service to the realm," Sir Didymus said.

"Then go east, that way," Jareth said, pointing so as to make sure that the absent-minded knight didn't lose his way this time. "Tell the goblins to wait for my signal before they attack. If I do not send the signal within one week's time it is because I cannot, and then they must deal with the remaining demons by themselves. But above all, they should stay out of range of the Dreadlord and his axe."

Sir Didymus bowed in acknowledgment of the new orders and a few minutes later rode off east on his faithful sheepdog. Jareth waited until he was out of normal eyesight, then turned to his companions.

"There is an interdimensional conduit fairly near here. You may return to your home world safely, Sarah, and I trust Hoggle wouldn't mind escorting you." He pretended not to notice the hurt look in Sarah's eyes. Damn it, didn't she understand anything?

"But you still have so far to go," she protested.

"And I have no guarantee of how this war will turn out. You are far better off in your own world."

"With my games and my costumes?" Sarah asked. "Is that it? You think I haven't got what it takes to be here? Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered . . . ." She recited, suddenly breaking off as she saw the fear and horror that swept over Jareth's features.

The goblin king turned and walked away from her.

[-]

The Dreadlord stood fuming in anger as well as smoke amidst the burning piles of trash filling the junkyard that lay just beyond the goblin city. He kicked at the corpse of the withered old junk woman to make sure she was dead. He had come here seeking information, and he had certainly gotten any he could from her. It seemed that at least three of the ones he now sought were here several months ago, in this particular area of the junkyard. Now all that remained was to search through the trash in hopes of finding anything useful and disposing of everything else. As the demons rummaged through mound after mound of junk, the Dreadlord saw something that caught his attention. It appeared to be a book . . . a book with a familiar and significant title. "The Labyrinth."

[-]

"Oh, please, I didn't mean it," Sarah cried, trying to catch up to the disappearing goblin king. But his own words came back to haunt her. What's said is said. Weren't those the rules? Hoggle, panting from exertion, had gone chasing after her, trying to reason with her. All she could think about was the tormented look in Jareth's eyes before he'd turned away from her. _He was right the first time_ , she thought angrily _. I am cruel_. She could see him marching alone through the trees up ahead and she put on another burst of speed.

Jareth was lost in his own furious thoughts. Damn her! The miserable monarch clutched the side edges of his one green cape to keep himself from punching something. It wasn't fair, but then life never was. And to think he'd actually deluded himself into thinking she might have cared somewhat about him these past two weeks! But her words had shattered that illusion, and after he'd been so concerned about her safety all this time . . . .

"Wait," she called out behind him.

Jareth, with a shudder, raised his hand to touch the amulet around his neck. In another second, he vanished from sight and sound completely. Sarah, devastated, slumped down to the ground and buried her face in her hands. Hoggle waited and left her to herself for a few moments before trying to console her.

"Don't worry," the little dwarf said. "I think I know where he's going."

[-]

The Dreadlord carefully reread the book he'd found earlier this morning. It was more than interesting, it was helpful. He now knew, once and for all, how to destroy that wretched goblin king. It was line 74 of the short play that had caught his attention.

"But what no one knew was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl . . . ."

Why hadn't he guessed sooner? She had reacted with such shock when he'd shown her Jareth's amulet, and then she'd been among the ones who broke into his dungeons . . . . That had to be the logical connection. Now all he had to do was get the girl.

[-]

Jareth stood outside the entrance to the block maze, wondering why he still cared. Because he was a king, obviously. The Labyrinth was still his kingdom, and he was going to fight to get it back even if it killed him, which it probably would. But he knew that his desired weapon lay deep in the confusion construction that this tunnel led to. A crystal, he thought, nothing more. A single spell crystal . . . . The last thing left behind by the one who had been King of the Goblins before him. If Jareth could get his hands on that crystal, he could manipulate it, turn it into something to use against the Dreadlord. He might only get one shot at the demon king, but that was all he would need. With a weary sigh, and wondering if he really felt like climbing, Jareth started down into the maze.

After an hour's downward journey, he came to a place of light and was greeted by a sight that would have made anyone else hopelessly dizzy. Blocks and beams jutted out from each other at monotonous, rigid angles, and the intimidating construction appeared to stretch on forever in all directions. It figured. If Zale, the previous goblin king, had had a sense of humor – which he didn't – this place's appeal would have been obvious. Somewhere down below, in that confusing place, the glowing weapon waited.

[-]

"Come on," Hoggle said, waving Sarah toward the flowering hedge that concealed a steady, old pile of boulders. "I know just about all the rumors in this place. If Jareth was looking for a weapon, he must have come by here."

Sarah, still weighed down by her own guilt, barely felt like moving, but she pried at the bushes with Hoggle. The pair quickly found a small tunnel entrance guarded by an illusory rock. But when Hoggle and Sarah tried to press on through an invisible wall of force rose up and pushed them back.

"Damn," Hoggle swore. "I forgot . . . . it's rumored that only one person can enter this place at any one time. Jareth must have already gone down. There's nothing we can do but wait for him here."

[-]

The Dreadlord would have sneered within his armored helm. Perhaps he did, but no one saw it. He had picked up a set of human and dwarf footprints easily, and judging by their newness he would be upon his victims in a few hours. Since he'd noticed that Zkkk, the best of his commanders, had failed to report back, and that two-thirds of his demon army was mysteriously missing, he'd decided to take matters into his own hands. Now he would get this Sarah, since that was apparently the girl's name, and with any luck he would get Jareth as well. And once he had the goblin king in his power again, Jareth would suffer as no being had ever suffered before.

[-]

Jareth slowly and cautiously climbed down the block maze beam by beam looking for the crystal. He couldn't help himself still thinking of Sarah as he came nearer to his goal. Hoggle would have taken her back through the dimensions by now. He envied Hoggle. Sarah's friend. The king of the goblins had subjects and servants – no friends.

Jareth laughed despite himself. Envy Hoggle? How ridiculous! But he did. And he was still troubled by something else – Hoggle's strange behavior. Hoggle had been unusually cooperative during the past two weeks and Jareth still didn't know why. The dwarf must have wanted something.

Jareth interrupted these thoughts as an ancient glow appeared dozens of yards away from him. The crystal. Centuries had passed since he'd last seen one of Zale's creations, but there it was, almost familiar. The crystal was unlike any of the ones he'd created in the past – opaque, pastel-colored and with a pearlescent surface that sported a malevolent glow. Typical. Zale had placed it on the thinnest possible section of crossbeam, one that would require a dangerous approach. One slip of the hand would send the crystal plummeting forever into the block-and-beam-filled nothingness that existed down below.

Carefully, carefully Jareth climbed over the beams to reach it, silently cursing his predecessor at every inch. The crystal seemed to be waiting for him, impatient and taunting. It slowly shifted from pastel blue to pastel orange, yellow, green and purple as he got closer and closer. The perfect weapon. Its creator would have approved of that use.

Finally it was close enough. Jareth's hand reached out to grab it and he could feel the power of the crystal radiating through his fingers at the slightest touch. Suddenly, from far above him he heard a scream. It was Sarah's voice. Jareth hesitated as he heard another scream . . . . a second's hesitation, just long enough. The crystal teetered precariously against his fingertips and before he could close his hand around it, the shining globe plunged into the void.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Jareth cursed aloud with frustration as he made his way upward out of the block maze. By god, Sarah had better have had a good reason to scream like that or he would certainly give her one! Angrily, he remembered the sight of Zale's crystal as it fell beyond reach. His weapon, his one clear chance of defeating the Dreadlord, gone forever.

Still cursing, he climbed up through the tunnel and toward the mouth of the cave. As he emerged into the fading daylight two things caught his attention. The first was Hoggle, lying on the ground and moaning, covered with dust. The second was the monstrously huge hoofprints that were spread all over the clearing. Looking farther, he saw that one of the nearby trees had been split by what must have been a huge axe blade. Jareth's blood ran cold as he remembered the terrified screams. It was all too obvious what had happened.

Hoggle, slowly picking himself up, limped over to the goblin king, his eyes wide with fear. Jareth, none too gently, grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Damn you," he said, shaking the dwarf, "you were supposed to take her back! Why did you have to follow me here?"

Hoggle, trying to wrench himself away, caught his breath and explained how the Dreadlord had attacked them. The dwarf had been nearly flattened by the Dreadlord's horse as he tried to prevent the demon king from kidnapping Sarah.

"He said he's going to kill her," Hoggle mumbled in fear. "Throw her off the castle tower as an example to the resisters! But I don't understand why he just left me."

"To inform me, obviously."

The king of the goblins paced about for a minute, then sat down on one of the nearby rocks, fuming.

"You've got to figure a way out of this," Hoggle pleaded with him. "We can't let Sarah die!"

"What I can't figure out at the moment, Hogbrain, is you."

"Me?" The little dwarf quailed.

"You," Jareth rumbled, standing up again. "What do you want?"

"Well, to rescue Sarah of course!"

"Besides that."

Hoggle stared at the goblin king in hopeless confusion until Jareth leaned down to give him a sharp jab on the shoulder.

"You know exactly what I mean, you little scab," Jareth said. "You always want something. And for the past few weeks when I needed help against the Dreadlord you were most obnoxiously friendly the entire time. I want to know why."

Hoggle stared at him dumbfounded for a moment, then remembered to speak.

"Uh," the dwarf gulped, "because Sarah's my friend."

"And?"

"And because I wouldn't do nothing to hurt her."

Well," Jareth said impatiently, "what has that got to do with anything?"

Hoggle couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Hoggle cried. "She's in love with you!"

This time it was Jareth's turn to be dumbfounded.

"Why do you think we were waiting here for you?" Hoggle asked him. "Couldn't you tell how upset she was?"

How upset _she_ was? Jareth thought furiously. How upset _I_ was. He slumped back down on the rock to fume again.

"And now the Dreadlord's going to kill her! You've got to do something!" Hoggle got down on his knees to implore before being stunned by Jareth's next words.

"There is nothing I can do."

"What?"

"There is nothing I can do," Jareth repeated. "Thanks to your following me here, I have no weapon with which to face the Dreadlord. By the time I can find another one it will be too late."

"So what are you going to do? Just leave her to get thrown off the castle towers?"

"That isn't my fault. I warned her. I warned you."

Hoggle thought frantically as he looked at the goblin king. Jareth just had to be moved to action somehow. During their long journey Hoggle had thought hard about Jareth's loss of magic. He thought he knew what the cause was, too, but making Jareth realize that wasn't going to be easy. The dwarf paled as he considered how dangerous his next actions might be.

"And that's it, isn't it?" the dwarf yelled, putting his theory into action. "You're just going to stay there and sulk, like I bet you were doing a lot after she left the last time. Poor, poor Jareth," Hoggle mocked. "You were missing a long time before the demons invaded."

Trying to look braver than he felt, Hoggle gave Jareth a small, impudent kick in the shin.

"What did you do all those months? Hide in your castle and feel sorry for yourself just because you didn't get what you wanted for a change? Take the easy way out and stop giving a damn about anything? Poor old Jareth."

The king of the goblins could feel his anger rising even as he knew how close Hoggle was to the truth. Jareth remembered the emptiness he'd felt, at least in part, long before his first encounter with Sarah. And as his magic had started to fade, that feeling of emptiness and apathy had only grown. But it was better not to think about those things. Jareth stood up and towered over Hoggle, full of menace.

"Beware, dwarf. You push me too far."

"So what are you going to do about it, huh?" Hoggle teased him, trying to trot just out of Jareth's reach. "No wonder you didn't notice Sarah was in love with you. You probably didn't care."

Jareth, having heard more than enough and struggling to keep his temper under control, looked for a way out of the clearing, but Hoggle kept jogging around him, blocking his path.

"But you know what really bugs me?" the dwarf chided. "All the things she did for you! You don't even know! When you were so badly hurt that you didn't wake up for days, Sarah was there looking after you the whole time. She barely left you for a minute!"

Hoggle let those words sink in even as he could see the effect they were having on Jareth. The goblin king was thinking about Sarah being at the Dreadlord's mercy – or lack thereof – and growing even angrier.

"And you know what else she did?" Hoggle continued. "She cried – over you! And now, because I brought her here to look for you, because she wanted to help you, the Dreadlord is going to kill her! Hoggle could feel his own anger by this time. "Sarah's going to die and you don't even care!"

"DAMN YOU, OF COURSE I CARE!" Jareth roared and without even realizing what he was doing, shot a hand out directly at Hoggle.

The dwarf ducked even as the rock he had been standing next to was reduced to a pile of smoking ashes. For a moment, all was silent. Jareth, shocked, looked from his hand to the pile of ashes, understanding what he'd just done. Hoggle lay on the ground crouching and trembling, wondering if maybe his theory hadn't worked just a bit too well.

Jareth stared at his hand again and concentrated for a moment. A glowing, transparent crystal formed in it. Jareth could feel a familiar, old sensation of power coursing through him. In his hand, he turned the crystal into a tarantula, then a flower, then a pair of gloves, then back into a crystal. At his mental command, the crystal vanished and reappeared.

"My magic is back," he said in as calm a voice as possible.

Hoggle dared to look up, but did not approach the goblin king.

"All you had to do was care," he explained.

Jareth manipulated the crystal and juggled it back and forth a few times to readjust to the feeling. From somewhere in the distance, in the direction of the castle, Jareth and Hoggle could hear a scream. Hoggle shuddered, staring in that direction, and when he turned back toward Jareth, the goblin king was nowhere in sight. Looking up toward a tree branch, Hoggle saw a white owl, flecked with black. He heard a flapping of wings and then the owl too was gone.

[-]

"Help!" Sarah cried out as the circle of demons pushed her back and forth across the parapets of the castle like a human medicine ball. Every so often, one of the demons would step back and let her almost fall over the edge of the castle walls just for the fun of it. She had become hopelessly dizzy and was too tired to struggle any longer. Her hands, tied behind her, had lost all sensation and there was nothing she could brace herself against for support.

The Dreadlord, seated nearby, watched the game with considerable amusement. Finally he decided to participate and got up, walking over to his helpless prisoner. With his clawed, black gauntlet he picked her up by the shoulder, letting the metal talons sink in, and dangled her precariously over the edge of the nearest wall.

"You'll have to scream a bit louder, my dear," the dark demon chuckled. "I want everybody, and I do mean _everybody_ , to hear."

Suddenly spotting the familiar book that the Dreadlord had tucked into his belt and realizing what the demon king meant, Sarah closed her mouth in stubborn defiance. It was bad enough that she had hurt Jareth so unintentionally, she wasn't going to help this monster lure him here. Not that Jareth would want to come looking for her after what she'd said – that would be too much to ask for. The Dreadlord shook his head at her silence and dug his claws in more.

"A bit reluctant, are we?" He shook her in the air.

Sarah, unable to do anything else, twisted herself around and gave the Dreadlord a firm kick. It bounced harmlessly off his black and grey armor.

"I want you to _scream_ , my dear. I can make you, you know."

The Dreadlord raised his huge axe and with a swift motion turned it upside down so that the handle pointed toward her. The polished wood began to crackle with electricity. The demon king brought it closer and closer to her face, enjoying the terror in her eyes. Sarah remained silent. But before the Dreadlord could touch it to her, he raised his horned, helmed head and looked away, distracted by a sound he didn't recognize. Sarah, not understanding the temporary reprieve, listened and heard it too – a sound that hadn't been heard in the Labyrinth in months. Singing.

" _There's such a fool heart, beating so fast . . . ."_

The Dreadlord listened, struggling to make out the nature of this unfamiliar voice. Then he recognized it and gave a hideous laugh. His true prey had come, as expected. He leveled the axe handle in the direction of that voice. Sarah, hoping to make him drop the axe or at least miss his intended target, kicked furiously at the demon king's arm. The Dreadlord regarded this distraction for a moment. The girl was no longer important, after all, and he _did_ have a public example to make of her.

"Jareth, you pathetic fool," he called out tauntingly. "You have defied me long enough, but I know how to hurt you!" So saying, he lifted his struggling prisoner high in the air and tossed her off the castle wall.

Sarah tried hard not to scream as the wind rushed by her face and the ground rose up sickeningly to meet her. With what might be her last coherent thought, she hoped that Jareth forgave her. Then she stopped falling and landed in something – not hard, as she expected to, but gently, harmlessly. She found herself floating in a gigantic clear crystal bubble that was carrying her away from the castle. As she slumped down in the crystal, weak and dizzy, she could hear a familiar voice singing to her.

" _But I'll be there for you as the world falls down . . . ."_

Semiconscious, Sarah drifted to a landing where an anxious Hoggle was waiting.

The Dreadlord had seen it, but didn't quite believe it. True, he had heard that Jareth was a wizard, but he had never witnessed any proof of those abilities until now. He dismissed the notion. Surely this could not be the work of the same man he'd held prisoner in the dungeons for over two weeks.

"Show yourself, whoever you are," the demon king challenged, letting the electricity crackle from his axe handle.

"You know perfectly well who I am," the stern voice responded.

In the blackness of the night that had descended on the Labyrinth, an angry, platinum blond-haired figure appeared on one of the castle parapets.

"And just for the record," Jareth said menacingly, "I am no fool . . . ." A glowing crystal appeared in his hand. "Nor pathetic."

The king of the goblins threw the crystal into the air and it exploded in a brilliant flash of light. The Dreadlord aimed his axe handle at the parapet and shot a lightning bolt at Jareth. But when he looked to see the charred body, there was none.

"I would almost be tempted," Jareth's voice called from behind the demon king. "But unlike you, I don't shoot my enemies in the back."

The Dreadlord, in reality not the bravest of beings, was reminded of how he had captured Jareth the first time. Now he would have to kill the goblin king as quickly as possible, since Jareth had suddenly proved himself to be much more dangerous than before. Spinning around, he saw his opponent standing on another parapet, crystal in hand.

"Shall we begin?" Jareth asked.


	13. Chapter Twelve (or 13 o'clock)

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Far below, just outside the city that surrounded the castle, the waiting army of goblins along with Sir Didymus' relatives had seen Jareth's signal. Now with a loud, defiant cry, they swept into the city ready to meet their demon enemies. Runt, too small to be a soldier and too big to be shot out of a cannon, perched on his friend Ludo's furry shoulders to cheer the other goblins and the fox warriors on. Ludo, with his usual roar, brought another army of rocks into battle behind him, this time on the side of the goblins, and the final assault began. Far away, lightning and colored flashes cascaded from the top of the castle at the Labyrinth's center.

[-]

The Dreadlord howled with rage as he sent bolt after bolt of lethal electricity flying at his enemy. Jareth seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, always just out of reach. Most of Jareth's attacks were fended off by a quick motion of the axe blade or by the Dreadlord's nearly impervious armor. The two opponents fought their way across the castle ramparts and down into the interior of the impossibly huge building.

"Where are you, you stupid goblin?" the Dreadlord called out.

"Not nice," Jareth's voice answered just before an energy-filled crystal smacked the demon king straight in the visor. With any luck, Jareth thought, the armor would cave in sooner or later under the constant assault. In the meantime, it was taking most of his concentration to avoid the demon king's attacks, which had come a little too close a few times. One small corner of his hideous green cape had already been singed away by a lightning blast, and the goblin king had no intention of taking on any more injuries now that he was recovering from the last ones. To frustrate the demon king, he filled the hallway they were in with humanoid-shaped puffs of smoke. The Dreadlord screeched with anger and ran from puff to puff trying to eradicate each one with a swing of his axe blade.

"You are a stubborn person," Jareth commented.

With a maniacal fury that would have made his lieutenant Zkkk proud, the demon king swept through the last of the smoke images only to be confronted by a half dozen likenesses of himself. These made a tangible clanking on the pavement of the castle, but fell like cut blades of grass before the real Dreadlord.

"Just as well," the goblin king's disembodied voice said from every part of the hallway. "One of you is much more than enough."

Jareth quickly prepared another spell, reminding himself that, coward though the Dreadlord might be, there are few things as dangerous as a desperate coward. And the demon king wasn't even being slowed down very much. He was sweeping through the castle like a miniature Humongous, striking at any half-imagined shadow or threat.

"You had better hope to die soon, wizard!" the Dreadlord roared. "Because if you don't, I have plans for you."

Jareth's reply was a flurry of crystals that turned into razor-sharp blades in mid-air and clanged against his opponent. The battle drove them both farther, deeper into the castle, leaving behind a trail of lightning bolt marks and leftover spell effects.

[-]

The battle for the goblin city was going well for the goblins. The demons had been taken by surprise and were unable to form an effective counter-attack, and as Sir Didymus reassured the goblins and his kindred, the threat of reinforcements had already been taken care of by Jareth himself. Ludo's rocks had done their work, though there were places in the city that were inaccessible to large boulders. Runt had found a bag of rotten tomatoes and was throwing this ammunition at the demon gunners, blinding them, from the safety of his perch. Several of the demons broke formation and ran at the mere sight of Ludo, even though the big furry beast was rather confused and didn't want to hurt anyone anyway.

Sarah, exhausted as she was and with her shoulder still throbbing from the wounds caused by the Dreadlord's talons, saw the battle from the relative safety of a grassy hillside overlooking the goblin city. Hoggle had untied her after Jareth's crystal had set her down, explained to her about the sudden return of the goblin king's magic, and was now standing guard over his concerned friend. Sarah looked toward the castle for any sign of how the battle inside it might be faring. She could occasionally make out a flash of light from one of the castle windows, but all she could do was wonder at how it might turn out.

[-]

The fight between the Dreadlord and Jareth was raging more furious than ever as it brought them to what might be their final battleground. The huge chamber of angular flights of stairs rang with their attacks, and the warped dimensions of this area, with separate gravity planes on every level, was making the Dreadlord's shots run wild. Jareth had been quick to press the advantage – he knew every inch, dimension warp, and nuance of this room and could aim his spells so that they struck the enemy from every angle at once. The Dreadlord's armor was starting to show some deep dents and cracks, Jareth noticed with satisfaction and relief. His own unrestrained use of his powers had started to take its own toll.

A searing blast of lightning grazed Jareth's back and tore off what remained of his cape. The goblin king closed his mind to the slight pain and sent another volley of crystals to deepen the cracks in the Dreadlord's armor.

"Still resorting to your favorite tactics, I see," Jareth taunted. "I would teach you some manners if I thought you had any brain for learning them." He skipped across to another stairway and concentrated his will on making another crystal more powerful than all the rest.

"You can't stay out of sight forever, goblin!" The demon king raged, looking for his opponent among the confusing sets of stairs.

Jareth appeared in the Dreadlord's vision once again, this time on the far side of the chamber. He threw a large crystal directly at the demon king. It disappeared as it hit an invisible dimensional pocket, reappeared in another part of the chamber, ricocheted, disappeared again, and reappeared inches from the Dreadlord's face, leaving the demon king no time to fend it off with his axe. There was a brilliant explosion as the crystal hit the Dreadlord's armor, and when the smoke and sparks of light finally cleared, the Dreadlord's axe was lying several yards away on a different set of stairs. The armor had crumpled into a pile of broken bits and pieces on the pavement.

The weary goblin king almost sighed with relief until he saw the creature that crawled out of the broken armor. The impossibly flat thing flowed across the landing like a shadow as it went toward the weapon.

"Very, very good!" The Dreadlord hissed in a changed, tinny voice. "But you've hardly won yet! My armor may give me form, but my strength is my own!" The large, sliver-like creature turned its side to Jareth and vanished from view. "You see," the thing that was the king of the demons called out eerily, "you're not the only one who can turn invisible, although some of us do it differently."

This does put a new dimension on things, Jareth thought. Or take one away. How was he going to find his alien opponent now in a room that already had its fill of space warps?

The Dreadlord chuckled to itself as it reached for the fallen battle axe. A hand appeared as he twisted it back into the realm of length and breadth. It wrapped its shadowy sinews around the axe handle and lifted it ever so slightly, with the still vanished part of the demon king checking to make sure that Jareth did not notice. Sometimes favorite tactics worked best after all. The Dreadlord had studied the various angles of the chamber as well, and knew how to aim his next shot.

Jareth formed another crystal in his hand and was standing at the edge of the stairway searching for his opponent as the Dreadlord fired.

[-]

Sarah, still watching, was the first to see the brilliant flash of light that came out of every available opening in the castle. The thunderous sound that arrived with it left her ears ringing despite her distance. When the flash and noise had died down the castle was still standing as it always had, but this time it was completely silent. Sarah lowered her head in an unspoken prayer.

In the goblin city, the victorious goblins looked up from their battle toward the castle as well. Even the rocks called by Ludo seemed to halt in anticipation.

A lone figure walked out onto the castle ramparts, seen by all below, holding the broken blade of a battle axe in one hand and a cracked, horned helm in the other. Jareth raised them above his head for a moment, then threw the mangled objects to the goblins below. His subjects raised a triumphant cheer as they hit the ground, and turned to face the remaining demons with even more strength. Jareth released several more crystals from his hands, transforming them into tunnel cleaners or whatever was needed in the goblin city, and soon not a single one of the Dreadlord's demons remained to terrorize his subjects.

Ruler of the Labyrinth once more, Jareth looked out in the distance to see Sarah giving her friend Hoggle a joyous hug. Then the exhausted goblin king returned inside the castle alone.

[-]

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Didn't I the last time?"

"Well, yes, but . . . ."

"Hoggle, trust me."

[-]

Jareth was resting in regal splendor and a new, ungreen set of clothes amidst a pile of cushions on one of the castle terraces, watching the celebratory fireworks that were being set off in the goblin city down below. With any luck none of his restored subjects would accidentally set their own pants on fire this time. But then, goblins would be goblins.

Runt had returned to his usual place at Jareth's feet, joyfully polishing the goblin king's black boots as Jareth sipped wine from a goblet. It might take months to repair the damage done to the Labyrinth by the demon invasion, but at least some things had resumed normality. Jareth's mind went back to his final moments of battle with the now-deceased demon king. The Dreadlord had indeed been foolish to think that Jareth would fall for the same trick again.

These grim thoughts vanished from his mind as he heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs leading out to the terrace. He didn't need to turn around to identify his visitor.

"What do you want, Sarah?"

"I, uh, came up here to speak with you," she said, struggling to find the exact words she wanted.

"I thought you'd have gone home."

"I don't want to go home."

"Oh, and why not?" Jareth asked, with his back still turned to her.

Damnit, Jareth, Sarah thought, why do you have to make everything so hard?

"Well?" the reclining goblin king asked again.

Sarah hesitated for a moment, then realized that actions speak louder than words. She walked around to where the goblin king was resting, looked straight into his handsome, weary face and before Jareth knew what she was going to do, leaned over and kissed the surprised goblin king. She withdrew after giving him another kiss and looked down at the ground, blushing.

Jareth, hardly daring to believe what had just happened, sat bolt upright and stared as if in shock before rising to his feet. For a moment all was silence and stillness between them. Then Jareth reached out to kiss her in return and this time she did not pull away.

Runt, trying very hard not to see or hear anything he wasn't supposed to, diligently gave Jareth's boots another polish. For a long time, he brushed his boot cloth back and forth and then he started to use it on Sarah's sneakers until there was no more polish left. When he finally dared to look up, Sarah and Jareth were simply holding arms and looking at each other. The goblin quietly made sure that none of their attention was on him, then snuck away from the terrace.

Sarah rested her head against Jareth's shoulder and watched the fireworks. A tan-gloved hand brushed some hair out of her eyes and then held before her a single, perfectly transparent crystal. Sarah looked up and, studying Jareth's features, understood that what was being offered this time was very different from what he had offered her the last time he had made this gesture. She looked back at the crystal, and without a second's hesitation took it in her hands.

[-]

It is rumored in various places that the king of the goblins has fallen in love with a mortal woman. It is also rumored that the mortal woman has dared to love him in return. And it is said with certainty, in the entire Labyrinth, that the magical powers they both possess have never gone away.

THE END.


End file.
